New Wilmington City Council members get acclimated

Tuesday

Nov 29, 2011 at 3:26 PMNov 29, 2011 at 9:10 PM

With the priority list for 2012 stacking high, the city council will get a head start next month.

By Shelby SebensShelby.Sebens@StarNewsOnline.com

Margaret Haynes would like the city to do a better job at public relations when it comes to the perception of downtown Wilmington. She wants to assure people it's safe and friendly.“Downtown belongs to all of us,” she said. The newly elected councilwoman, along with her fellow newbie Neil Anderson, likely has a long list of issues the voters would like to see checked off. But the new council members will have some catching up to do first. With the priority list for 2012 stacking high, from getting a convention center hotel built to hiring a new city attorney, the city council will get a head start next month. Anderson, Haynes and incumbent Laura Padgett will be sworn into council Tuesday. And a little more than a week later they'll be down to business at an all day council workshop.

Haynes and Anderson are already getting familiar with city hall. City Manager Sterling Cheatham has run them through an orientation of government processes, rules and ethics. Anderson, new to politics, had a lot of questions. He had already read the large book of background Cheatham gave him before he came to the office earlier this month. And he had questions the city manager will have to get back to him on. He's eager – and aware he'll have to become accustomed to the process and personalities before proposing changes. “I'll have to wait and see how conservative or how budget conscious each individual will be,” said Anderson, who will become the lone Republican on the council. Haynes has been through this before when she filled a vacant seat on the council in 2009. Cheatham said in addition to showing the new members the ropes of government, the orientation brings them up to speed with what the rest of the council already knows. It's also a chance for them to ask questions and request information.Anderson said the meeting, which also included the city attorney and clerk, helped him to decipher fact from fiction. “You hear all kinds of stuff that people don't substantiate, especially during the campaign,” he said. He had questions about the city's tax rate when compared with other towns' and the recently awarded employee bonuses. He said he had concerns that the bonuses were passed after the budget was formed but understood after it was explained that the employees had worked since the summer at saving money so they could get the extra Christmas cash. Laura Padgett, who will start her fifth term on city council next month, said she always likes to meet with new council members to see if she might find allegiances on upcoming issues. She said Anderson seems to be catching on quickly and will be a “serious” addition to council.Anderson said he enjoyed his lunch with the long-time councilwoman and will likely do more listening than talking in the first couple of months on council as he gets acclimated. She said Haynes has a track record for how she's served the city but being elected to an office as opposed to appointed can sometimes change perspectives. The dynamic of the council is likely to change at least somewhat with two fresh faces. Anderson will be the only Republican to sit on the council. The first real test of how personalities mesh and viewpoints come together will be Dec. 16 at the council's workshop.

Cheatham is looking for specific suggestions from council members on what they want to talk about at the workshop as well as creating his own priority list of issues that need to be worked out. Topping the city manager's list is the convention center hotel, hiring a city attorney, taking an early glimpse at the upcoming budget, annexation and the county's tax revaluation. “What we do know is that for the first time in a long time the values are actually less,” Cheatham said. The county is in the process of revaluing properties and it's likely many home values will go down.Councilman Kevin O'Grady wants to talk about prioritizing the city's capital projects and figuring out what to do with money saved from last year's budget. The budget turned out better than expected and the council will have about $3 million to spend, save or put toward future projects, Cheatham said. Anderson said he would like to explore adding an economic development liaison to the city, someone who could oversee groups that get city money, such as Wilmington Industrial Development, Wilmington Downtown Inc. and the Wilmington Regional Film Commission. He also said he would like to look at making the planning department more efficient and focus on hiring a new head of the department. He said he would have to dig deeper to see if cuts could be made. He sees the planning department as the face of the city, the first step when someone wants to open a business.

Shelby Sebens: 343-2076Twitter: @ShelbySebens

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.